Jelle can stand firm at 7-4

Jelle Klaasen can cause an upset and land odds of 7-4 (Stan James and Boylesports) by beating his countryman Raymond van Barneveld in the quarter finals of the Ladbrokes.com World Championship on Friday evening.

The all-Dutch encounter is a repeat of the 2006 BDO final at Lakeside which saw the Young Matador become the youngest ever world champion, triumphing 7-5, aged just 21 years and 90 days.

Whilst struggling to make an immediate impact after defecting to the Professional Darts Corporation in 2007, having to start from the lower reaches of the rankings, Klaasen is now fulfilling his early promise. Indeed, he has made smooth headway through these championships, outclassing Colin Lloyd and Jan van der Rassel before dropping his first set in a 4-1 victory over seventh seed Andy Hamilton.

Van Barneveld presents a tougher challenge but the five-time world champion will not be taking anything for granted against a player he has never beaten on television. Barney survived a scare when edging out Ronnie Baxter 4-3 in a sudden-death thriller in the last 16, with Baxter missing one dart at bullseye for victory in the final set before missing two more at double eight in the sudden-death leg.

The world No 2 is a general 1-2 to progress but the value lies with Klaasen.